Melissa Carleton and her husband, Brian Lande, welcomed their son West, delivered by C-section earlier this week. Unfortunately, Fox 2 St. Louis reports that the happy occasion carried a dark cloud as Melissa remained in a coma. Melissa has been in a coma since March after suffering a seizure, but has been able to carry her son to full term.

According to SF Gate, Melissa had been diagnosed with a benign brain tumor, but decided to hold off on surgery until after she gave birth. Then, her condition began to deteriorate as she was suffering bad headaches and had difficulty walking. Shortly thereafter, she had a seizure and underwent emergency surgery.

Now, Melissa has brain damage in the area of her brain that controls wakefulness. Doctors believe that Melissa is aware of what is going on around her. She has opened her eyes, squeezed family members’ hands, and moved her lips during a kiss. As day of her C-section approached, Melissa put Brian’s hand on her stomach, where the baby was kicking. On the day of the C-section, she embraced her husband, touching his cheek and bringing him close to her face.

Women in a state of consciousness further deteriorated than Melissa have also been able to give birth to healthy babies. Last year, a 32-year-old woman gave birth to a baby 92 days after she was declared brain dead, The Telegraph.  Doctors at the Hungarian hospital she had been at since she suffered a catastrophic stroke were able to keep the baby alive even though they could not save her.  At the time of the stroke, she was 15 weeks pregnant.